Hope and Redemption
by darkmasta92
Summary: Guilt, he decided. It must be guilt. He'd been struggling with the gnawing sensation in his stomach, the ache in his chest. The nausea that threatened to bring tears to his eyes and his knees to the cold, stone floor of his cell.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Guilt_, he decided. _It must be guilt_.

He'd been struggling with the gnawing sensation in his stomach, the ache in his chest. The nausea that threatened to bring tears to his eyes and his knees to the cold, stone floor of his cell.

Hans had been stuck here, waiting, for the past week. And when his bitterness had worn out, his mind had become as blank as the grey walls of his prison.

He didn't altogether like the thoughts that had begun to fill it.

_Oh Hans, _a voice said. He was 9, on the floor, shivering and bruised. _Are you hurt, little brother?_ A wicked gleam had shone in Harold's eyes, one that shined every time he set his eyes on his pathetic smaller sibling.

Hans had clenched his teeth, just as he had clenched his useless little hands, just as he had felt the venomous hate clench his heart.

_Are you crying, little brother?_ Harold mouth held a smirk, one that would eventually be recognizable on Hans himself.

_Like a little girl!_ laughed Henry. Older than Hans, yet younger than Harold, he was constantly in Harold's shadow.

He came back to himself, long enough to realize that the sticky fluid beneath his hands was his own blood. He had fallen prostrate on the floor, had bitten his lips so hard blood still dripped like pebbles upon water.

He took a shaky breath and fell back, back against a wall.

_What have I done?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Anna walked along the halls of Arendelle Castle, a slight frown on her face. Her eyes were lost in focus, her thoughts directed inwards. Anyone in the castle would have seen this as odd; the bubbly young princess was always smiling, and talking, and running into anything and anyone in her way. But not many travelled the halls she now walked.

_Why am I doing this?_ She thought. _He's a murderer!_

_Except he wasn't, not really. He didn't actually murder anyone…_

_That's not the point! _She argued.

_Then why are you visiting him?_ She countered, exasperated.

She sighed, frustrated. She had been contemplating going back to the library, to her room, _anywhere_ but where she was going now, when finally she reached the dungeons.

The guard glanced, bowed. "Your Highness." A slight tilt to his brows signaled confusion.

"Princess Anna, with respect, this is not the place for a-"

"Please, just let me through." She said quickly, her mind still half focused inwardly on the argument she was holding against herself.

"I'll have to accompany you, Your Highness. Some of the prisoners can be-"

"Yes, yes." Her attention finally snapped to the guard, and the metal door standing in front of her, intimidating in its look and purpose.

With the twist of a key, the guard dragged the door open and politely gestured for Anna to enter.

She hesitated, then stepped forward into the dimly lit confines of the prison.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The sound had snapped him out of his reverie. _The door…? But food shouldn't be served for at least another 6 hours…_

Over the days he had watched how light had drifted in through his tiny cell window high above, how its position and brightness would signify the time of day. It had been something to keep him occupied, at least.

"Hans." A sharp voice, venomous and commanding.

And suddenly he was back, 13 years old, ears ringing from the slap his mother had dealt him. _Hans_, her voice hateful, commanding, _you apologize to your brother_. He watched false tears stream down Harold's face, the familiar smirk when his mother turned her back on him. _He will be important one day, while you'll still be 13th, a spare…_

Just a spare.

Hans flinched as if struck, face averted. He shifted slightly, away from the voice coming from the bars of his cell.

Anna's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Her resolute frown shifted uncertainly before it steadied as before.

"Look at me, Hans." She raised her voice slightly, tone still hostile.

Hans looked at her from where he was sitting. And when he settled those hazel-green eyes upon her blue ones, the conflict in her mind was abruptly silenced.

_Dead,_ she thought, shocked. _His eyes look….dead. _

"Anna." He said, wearily. Too wearily. As wearily as an old man on his deathbed.

She snapped back into focus, closed her mouth that had been hesitantly open, brought her face back into a determined gaze.

"That's Princess Anna to you, _criminal_." She said, sharply.

"Of course," he replied, voice soft and tired. "Princess Anna."

His eyes fell onto his boots, black and worn. Not that he noticed; he didn't notice much at all at the moment.

A pregnant pause filled the room, silence tense and sharp as broken glass. Anna was glad he had looked down, long enough for her to regain her composure, one that had been slowly falling apart.

"Why?" She asked, and truly tried to make her voice cold and regal, just like her sister would have, just like it _should_ be, but it came out hesitant, and…hurt?

Hans seemed to pick up on it. His eyes shifted, met hers again, but there was pain there. And not just from his nose, broken and poorly mended by her punch days ago, nor the blood dripping from…

Blood?

_Blood!_ She thought, frantic and panicking. "Guards!"

The guard that had been respectfully standing to the side, out of view, was suddenly by her. "Your Highness?"

"Bring the physician at once!" Her voice was shaky and loud. She hated the sight of blood, and the adrenaline running through her veins made her movements sharp and jerky.

The guard took a hesitant look at Hans, then glanced back at her. Noting her state, he spoke.

"At once, Your Highness."

She took one more look at Hans, seeing the faint confusion that glanced over his features. He still looked weak and frail, more pale than usual. _There's more affecting him than just the blood… _she thought, as she hurriedly made her exit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When Hans awoke, it was to the sound of music.

_What?_ He thought, blearily. _Where am I?_

He kept his eyelids closed, searching only through his other senses. Softness below him, the smell of lavender, a gentle breeze, the song of birds…_that must have been the music. _

He was not in prison.

He finally mustered up the courage to open his eyes. He was met by intricate carvings on the ceiling above him, gentle swirls of purple and blue.

A window was open to let in a cool summer breeze. Birds chirped on the balcony's railing.

The sights he took in raised more questions than they answered.

_What happened..?_ He closed his eyes once more, focusing on the last thing he remembered.

_A man came into the cell… a physician?_ He thought back, remembering how tired he had felt, how he had tried desperately to stay awake while the physician patched up his lip, because he would at least _try_ to be strong, dammit, and…

And then he realized that he still didn't feel that much stronger now, even with a soft bed below and summer surrounding him.

"You're awake, then." Said a cool voice, and he shivered slightly in recognition.

He broke from his quiet introspection, realizing that he had subconsciously pulled himself into a sitting position.

His eyes fell onto a slim figure standing by the door. All grace and cold beauty, Queen Elsa slowly made her way into a chair placed an appropriate distance from the bed.

He cleared his throat, though his voice still came out raspy.

"Queen Elsa, I didn't expect to see you again."

She studied him for a moment, expressionless. Long enough for him to avert his eyes and begin to feel uncomfortable. Long enough to dwell on that day, the day he wished he could forget, with his hands gripping cold wood over steel, and her desolate form beneath him…

She finally broke the silence. "You had caught a fever, Hans. Prison did not treat you well. Though I suppose it's as much as you deserve."

He clenched his teeth. _I should have known_. "What is to become of me, now, Your Majesty?" He spoke through gritted teeth, though his words were civil enough. He would remain civil; he was still a prince.

"You're still a criminal, Hans, no matter your state of health." She spoke with a hint of anger, though none of it betrayed her face.

Hans felt his hands dig into the soft sheets below him. _Calm, Hans. _

"However… prison may not be the best place for you to serve your penance."

He blinked up, tension releasing. _No way._

"…What?" He said, confused. "What else is there?"

"We received a letter from your family. They have exiled you; you are no longer _Prince_ Hans, nor are you of the Southern Isles." Her voice, calm and cool, nonetheless gained a measure of softness as she pronounced what he had been dreading ever since he was dumped in that miserly prison cell.

The softness of her tone didn't help. It struck him like a slap.

The tension left his body, but what replaced it was even worse. He sagged, as if in those few seconds he had aged years. _Were you really expecting anything else?_ He asked himself. He didn't know what he had expected… but he did know that the anger that was starting to burn at his core was very real, and it was growing stronger.

"Hans?" He looked again, and there was something behind the Queen's gaze. Was that… pity? Impossible.

"And why are _you _here, _Queen Elsa?_" he spat. "Come to taunt me? Hurt me, maybe? Perhaps you just wished to see me _broken?_" And as he spoke, he found it harder to see past the blur that had begun to spring in his eyes. "There! Wish granted! Happy now, _Your Majesty?!" _His voice had gotten progressively louder, sounding more and more scarred, until the world became a great haze around his red tinted vision.

"Hans!" He heard that voice again, and there was something like concern in it, but suddenly he was too tired, too _weary_ to care. When the darkness came for him this time, he welcomed it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Elsa!"

She had no time to prepare for the flurry coming her way. Before she knew it, her arms were full of her happy, bumbling little sister.

She couldn't help but smile. "Anna," she said, fondly. She pulled back to look at her. "How are you?"

"Oh, Elsa, Kristoff and I just came back from another harvest, and we got to ride in his new sled, and did I tell you about his new sled? Because it's all nice and shiny and matches so well with his new fancy title and-"

"Anna," Elsa said drily. "I gave him that sled. And the title."

"Oh." Anna said, blushing slightly. "Right."

Elsa chuckled softly. The Great Thaw had brought joy to everyone, and ever since the sisters held each other back on that ship for the first time in what seemed like forever, they had been nearly inseparable.

Well, it would be more accurate to say that Anna was inseparable from Elsa. The Queen had more than enough work to keep her occupied.

The ship brought her mind back to the unpleasant issue she was contemplating before Anna had burst into her study.

"Elsa?" Anna said, concerned. "Are you okay?"

She hadn't realized that she had drifted into space, absently looking out the window as the summer sun lighted the city. She turned back to her sister, her manner suddenly serious.

"Anna, why did you visit Hans yesterday?"

Anna looked down and bit her lip. She gazed uncertainly at the hem of her dress before she looked up to meet Ela's gentle, inquiring eyes.

"I- I don't know, really. I wanted to, you know, _know_ why he did those horrible things. He just seemed so, I don't know, so _sincere_ when I met him, a-and…"

"Hey," Elsa's voice softly interrupted. "It's okay."

"It's not okay though! He tried to kill me, he _almost _killed you and-"

"Anna, it's over." Elsa's voice soothed. "You don't have to worry anymore." She smiled, the warmth of her expression at odds with the refreshing coolness of her hands. "He can't hurt us."

"Yeah…" Anna smiled sheepishly. "I guess so. Where is he, anyway? I thought I saw him taken away from that nasty dungeon."

Elsa's smile faded. "That's another thing. He's… in one of the unused rooms. He caught a fever down there, and he's still in bed, recovering."

Anna's grip on Elsa's arm tightened suddenly, to the point where Elsa released a soft, pained sound. Anna immediately unclenched her hands.

"Elsa! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to-"

"Anna!" She laughed. "I'm fine."

Anna looked at her sister, uncertain. "But what are you going to do, Elsa? It's _Hans_."

Elsa turned to the window once more, arms drifting to the counter. "I visited him, when-"

"What?! Elsa, you can't visit him! He's-"

"Anna, you visited him too." Elsa cut in, exasperated.

"Oh." She flushed a deeper shade of crimson. "R-right."

"Anyway," Elsa continued softly. "I visited him, and he acted….strange. Withdrawn. And when I told him about his exile, he got so upset he blacked out again."

"Well," Anna said. "He did just get rejected by his whole family. I mean, that must be pretty horrible. Not that he doesn't deserve to feel horrible…"

She drifted off. Elsa turned to look at Anna curiously. _People usually have to get her to stop talking._

"Anna?"

"I noticed something too, Elsa." She finally admitted. "When I visited him, down there in the dungeon, he seemed…worn out. Like he just didn't care anymore….about anything.

Elsa nodded, more surprised at Anna's willingness to admit this than at Han's behavior. She had expected Anna to side against Hans entirely.

"What are you going to do, Elsa?" Anna asked again, uncertainty rendering her voice soft.

She stayed silent. Just as Anna was convinced she wouldn't answer, Elsa replied.

"Something you won't like."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After three days, the fever broke. Hans wished he could say he was glad, but that wouldn't be true.

_Back to prison, I suppose. _He sighed, resigned. The birds happily chirping through the open window only served to remind him what he would be missing.

He had woken in a haze, sunbeams making patterns through the lazy dust in his room. _His room_. He smiled bitterly. _Come on, Hans. Who are you kidding? You don't belong here, you won't for a million years._

The previous three days had been taxing on him. The sun had jabbed at his eyes during the day, while night had brought its own terrors.

Fever dreams. Nightmares. His illness had brought him back to memories he constantly tried to turn his back on, and he would wake thrashing and screaming weakly in the darkness.

_Sitting by his horse, the hay bending to accommodate his shape. Footsteps, near and unwelcome. A cuff to the back of his head, a sneer. "Try not to screw up, this time." Eyes to the front, knuckles white and gripping against his horse's reins…_

He opened eyes that had been tightly shut. His hands had clawed jagged impressions into the mattress. He took in a shuddering breath.

"Sir?"

His eyes wandered the room until they settled upon a seated figure by the bed. The physician?

"How are you feeling, sir?"

Hans blinked away the slight blurriness clouding his vision. It was when he was about to speak that he realized how thirsty he was.

"Water." He said, hoarsely.

The physician rose and filled a glass of water lying on the bed stand. Hans took the glass and drained it. His grip was strong enough to hold it on his own.

"Thank you." He said, eventually.

The physician blinked in surprise, but quickly masked it. "How are you feeling?" He asked again.

"Stronger." He did feel stronger. Not strong, by any means, but he felt like he could trust the strength of his legs to hold him up.

"Do you feel up to walking?"

"I think so." He rose slowly, bed creaking as if to protest his leaving. _Well, I'm not exactly looking forward to going back, either. _

He got to his feet, dressed only in his breeches. He eyed the physician. "Where are the guards?"

The physician frowned. "What?"

"The guards… to take me back. Where are they?"

"Back?" The physician remained oblivion. "Back where?"

Hans was getting tired of this. "Back to my cell, where else? Don't play games with me, I'm not in the mood."

The man's brows smoothed in realization. His mouth made a silent _ah._

"You're not going back, sir."

Hans had been in the middle of dressing when he froze. He recalled the Queen's visit, the words his fever dreams had caused him to forget for days. "_Prison may not be the best place for you to serve your penance."_

"What?" He finally managed, voice soft and hoarse as silk over gravel. Did he dare hope?

"Queen's orders, sir. You're to report to the castle barracks as soon as you're ready."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"You're absolutely right."

Elsa looked up from her dinner, surprised. "I am?"

Anna glanced from her food to her sister, eyes half lidded. "Yep. I still don't like it."

Elsa groaned. _Not this again_. "Anna, have you listened to a word I've said since then?"

Before Anna could respond, Kristoff spoke up from beside her. "Anna, as much as I hate the dirt bag, your sister knows what she's doing." He put a protective arm around her. "Besides, I won't let him get within a _mile_ of you."

Anna smiled up at him, eyes shining. He warmly returned the gesture.

The love those two shared set Elsa's heart at ease. It wasn't the kind to incite envy or longing. It was the kind that made one feel grateful to be able to take part in it, even simply as a witness.

But when Anna finally turned back to her, she could see the uncertainty lingering in her eyes.

"But Elsa…" She bit her lip. "Are you sure? Hans is dangerous, and getting him into the guard…"

Elsa reached her hands across the table to grasp her sister's. Ungloved, she welcomed the warmth as Anna instinctively laced her fingers with her own.

"Anna, he'll be under special supervision. Not to mention the training he'll have to go through; he'll probably be too tired to even _think_ about harming Arendelle again. And he won't even be in the castle, I've made sure of that." She smiled reassuringly.

The truth was, she hadn't known _what _to do with Hans. They couldn't just toss him back into prison, only to bring him back every time he had a fever. They couldn't dump him onto the Southern Isles after news of his exile. And they _definitely _weren't going to execute him. They'd have been no better than him if that were the case.

So she had grasped the only solution that sprung to mind; a job.

The edges of Kristoff's lips pulled into a smirk. "Don't worry, fiestypants. You can always walk up to him and punch him again if you don't feel good. Hey, I might even join you this time!"

Anna laughed, pulling her hands back to slap him playfully on the arm. "Don't forget Sven, I'm sure he has just as much…."

Elsa smiled as they continued their banter, but she couldn't help but notice the odd feeling swirling in her stomach. She tried to pretend the glass she held was just as cold as it was a minute ago.

_I really hope I don't regret this._

* * *

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Hans' foot moved impatiently against the wooden floor of the barracks entry room.

Other than the scribbling of quill on paper made by the man sitting at the desk in front of him, that was the only sound in the room. Though he felt the glares of the two guards behind him boring into his skull so strongly he could practically hear the thoughts in their heads.

_Traitor._

_Criminal._

_Filth._

He clenched and unclenched his teeth, a tick periodically appearing in the shadows of his cheeks. He almost wished he was back in his cell. Almost.

"Name?" The bespectacled old man in front of him finally spoke. His voice sounded as reedy and thin as the papers he worked with.

"Hans of…" He trailed off in painful remembrance. "Just Hans." He muttered.

_Scribble._

"Age?"

"22." _Not that I particularly feel it right now. _

"Any prior experience?"

"I've learned to hold a sword from my father's royal tutor."

At this the man raised his eyes over his glasses, brows slightly arched. Before he went back to his work, Hans thought he could hear a muttered "Rich kids."

The man final set his quill aside, raising his head to look at him like a hawk eyes prey.

"Enter door to the right," He said. "You'll find your bunk and equipment chest at post number 11." He then proceeded to ignore Hans as if he had never existed.

Hans finally moved from his position, boots making a dull _tap_ each time he stepped. Surprised that they weren't echoed by two more pairs, he looked back briefly to find the guards that had been escorting him hadn't followed. Not that they didn't want to; he could see from their faces that they trusted him just as much as a coiled snake.

Reaching the door, he entered to find an empty two rows of six bunks each lining the room, each having a chest at the end.

Seeing that the room was empty, he sighed in relief. Making his way to bunk 11, he started to change into the trainee equipment he found inside his chest when the door slammed open.

"I swear, if the captain keeps this up…" The rough voice trailed off. Hans turned to see a gruff, brawny man eyeing him from the doorway. They weren't friendly eyes.

"Well I'll be damned." A terrible smile slow worked its way across his face as more men in trainee uniforms entered from the door behind him. "If it isn't the damned traitor."


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch.8**

The warm, yellow light of a desk candle made a shadowed mockery of her hand as she signed the latest trade agreement with the Kingdom of Corona. Elsa knew that with their trade relations with Weselton severed (_good riddance) _Arendelle would need Corona's aid in maintaining prosperity.

That didn't make it any less boring.

Running her hand through her unbraided hair, she sighed exhaustedly. At the end of the day, Queenly duties such as this one made her wish for company more than anything. Which was why her eyes widened slightly in excitement as a polite knock resounded on her door.

Quickly pulling on a thick velvet robe over her nightgown and making some small adjustments to her hair, she called softly. "Enter."

The familiar leathery face of her Captain of the Guard made itself known to the candlelight. "You requested my presence, Your Majesty?" His rough, husky voice told the story of a thousand days of drilling guardsmen and giving orders. It was soft now, however.

"Hannik." She smiled warmly. "You know you can call me Elsa, Hannik. You've known me since I was in diapers." She'd never dare speak so openly with anyone else, but Hannik was there since the beginning. On his occasional patrols around the castle halls, he'd stop by her door whenever he heard her faint, muffled cries and tell her stories to comfort her. As an isolated child, his soft spoken words would be the arms to hold her tight when she went to bed at night alone.

His soft smile revealed the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. "As you say, Your Majesty."

She laughed softly. That was the Hannik she knew.

"Hannik, I'm know you've received a new recruit recently."

His smile slowly faded. "Your Majesty, are you sure-"He immediately cut off as he noticed a slight frost layering starting to cover a small part of her desk. Elsa looked down in surprise, quickly dissipating it.

"I'm sorry, Hannik. It's just that everyone's been asking me the same question over and over. You really can't be sure about something like this, but I believe it's the best solution available.

He nodded, understanding. _He's probably had to make some tough decisions too, considering his job._ Elsa thought absently.

"Yes, Your Majesty. But keep in mind that his crime will be with him for the rest of his life. As will it's memory among the people of Arendelle. I worry for his safety among the Guard."

She frowned faintly before realization smoothened her expression. "You worry his past crimes will be held against him during training."

"I know it will." He said softly. His eyes had fallen on some distance in between them, though their focus seemed even further away. Oddly, Elsa thought his voice carried a hint of pain. She was about the mention it when she decided against it. _We all have our secrets._

She walked forward, eyes on him. She eventually stood near enough that it would have been rude for him not to meet her eyes with his own.

"Hennik, I'm not completely sure of the relationship between a captain and his men. But please, _please_, just try to keep him safe."

Hennik silently met her earnest gaze for a while longer, and though his face was carefully blank she could _feel_ him just thinking-_why does she care so much for what happens to this traitor?_

She wished she knew herself. It had something to do with that day, the day she visited him as he lay tired and weak under sunlight and dust. The day she saw him for perhaps what he truly was, at that moment at least-a broken man.

And it had something to do with the swirling feeling in her stomach, the one that wouldn't leave her alone no matter how many monotonous trade agreements she signed.

He finally bowed his head slowly; it seemed both a nod of agreement and a gesture of respect.

"Okay, Elsa." He spoke, quiet and serious. "I'll do what I can."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Faster, men! If I see even one of you walk, you'll all be running an extra five laps!"

Captain Hannik Aas' grating voice blared through the air like a trumpet. That, along with the weight of the summer sun bearing down on his soaking back, made Hans question for the 100th time what exactly he was doing here.

They were at a large training field, a section of the castle that was really only connected to the rest of it by its stone walls, as the field was surrounded by them. A series of obstacles formed a large circle in the field, each trainee having to run laps while bypassing them.

Panting, he came across a short wall and quickly took three steps to vault over it. After the 20th time circling the training circuit, his running form had dissolved into something more akin to a seizure. Limbs flailing, breaths heaving in thick gulps of air, he only barely noticed when he passed another trainee who seemed in even worse condition than he was.

Mikkel wasn't walking, but whatever he was doing didn't resemble much of a run either. It was only because he seemed on the verge of collapse that Hans slowed his pace to match.

"Come on, Mikkel. Last lap. You can do it." Hans managed in between pants.

Mikkel's dark eyes briefly darted to him before they resumed their study of the ground. His nod of thanks was nearly indistinguishable from the continual bobbing of his head.

Mikkel was a skinny man, almost gaunt, with thick dark hair and a hunched walk that spoke of a troubled past. Hans made it a point to help him whenever he could; he was the only one that hadn't participated in the beating Hans had to suffer through on his first day. He could still feel the bruises through his shirt, each clammy press of the fabric against them causing an echoing pain of the blows that had created them.

He was used to it, though. It reminded him of home.

They finally reached the rugged finish line scored into the soil. Mikkel straight out collapsed, falling roughly into Hans' arms. Despite feeling the same urge to break down, he had been watching carefully.

"Gotcha." He breathed. "Come on, friend, let's sit for a moment." He propped his friend up, helping him shakily walk to a bench nearby.

"Thank you." Mikkel finally managed, catching his breath. His voice was timid and quiet, as if he was afraid that anything louder would bring some unsuspecting blow down upon him. _Why does his voice sound so familiar…?_

Hans mentally brushed it off. It would come to him or it wouldn't, he was too tired to care.

"What's this now? A traitor helping a coward?" They both looked up wearily at the rough voice. It broke through the air like an unwelcome guest, and Hans' weary mind protested its intrusion. _Not this again, not now…_

"Reider." Hans said through gritted teeth. "Lay off."

An ugly grin stretched across Reider's face. The other trainees had noticed, and Hans knew that if this continued they would follow his lead like wolves followed their alphas. "Oh? But I was just getting started…"

He was steadily moving towards where they were sitting, and Hans was about to rise and position himself in between Reider and his friend, because he _knew_ that Mikkel wouldn't be excluded this time. Not since that first day, when they had all noticed him sitting alone on his bunk, his eyes growing haunted with the sounds of fists against flesh, and Reider saw his inaction for weakness.

"What's going on here?" The captain's sharp voice snapped Reider out of his stride. He had appeared to the side, unnoticed by all three men as the air had grown thick with tension. Reider turned to look at him, a slight confusion playing on his features, as if the captain had rudely interrupted an interesting conversation.

"Well, sir, the traitor-"

"Has just demonstrated the very function of the Guard by putting the welfare of another in front of his own, while apparently you couldn't know that brand of selflessness if it slapped you in the ass." The words came out silent, but they were spoken harshly enough that all of them heard. Hans's eyes were still on Reider, but he could hear faint sounds of laughter coming from the other trainees.

Reider face turned red, a tick appearing on the side of his jaw. "But sir, the traitor-"

"Is a fellow man in your unit, and you will refer to him as thus. Am I understood, trainee?" The captain had walked long strides, his voice growing quieter with menace, until he stood nose to nose with Reider.

The brawny man was just angry enough to meet his stare for a moment, but upon seeing the cold deadliness that lay in his captain's eyes his anger cooled like searing metal dumped in water. He averted his eyes and took a hasty step back.

"Yes sir." He muttered, eyes averted.

The captain continued his glare for several heartbeats as if to make sure his point was understood, then brought his gaze around to the other trainees lingering at another bench.

"Come around, men." He called. The rest of them jogged over until they formed a loose circle around him.

"You've been training for a week now, and you will all receive your first patrol assignment tomorrow." Several of them sighed in relief. Hans almost did so himself. _As long as I don't have to go through this hell again._

"You will receive your individual assignments in the morning. Training is over for today. Dismissed."

Hans was about to leave with the others when he heard the captains voice quietly speak. "Hans, stay."

He stayed behind as the other trainees left for the mess hall. Some darted customary hostile glances towards him, but other looks he received seemed oddly… thoughtful.

Mikkel rose, hesitating. Hans turned to him. "Go ahead, Mikkel. I'll join you soon." He said softly.

As Mikkel left, the captain looked at Hans for a moment, expressionless. He finally spoke. "Why?"

Hans knew immediately what he spoke of. "He was on the verge of giving up, and-"

"No." The captain said, shaking his head. He looked intently into Hans' eyes, as if searching for something. "_Why?"_

And suddenly everything fell into place. Why he helped Mikkel, why his voice sounded so familiar.

It was his own voice.

When he was younger, he learned silence. On the rare occasion that speech was necessary, he learned to speak soft and timid, calling the least amount of attention to himself lest he earn a beating from his older brothers. Mikkel reminded him of himself when he was young. _Young?_ He thought ruefully. _I'm not even that old._ He sometimes had to remind himself.

"Because no one deserves to be alone." He finally said. "And because everyone deserves a chance." The firmness of his own voice surprised him.

The captain's eyes stopped their search. _He seems satisfied, somehow. _Hans thought strangely. _And something else… understanding. _

"I see." He said simply. "You will be paired with Mikkel on your patrol tomorrow. I have moved your bunk to another location, outside the castle. You will be moving tonight. Dismissed, trainee."

Hans frowned in confusion. _Outside the castle?_ He knew it was improper, but he needed to know. "With all due respect, sir, why am I moving?"

The captain arched a brow, as if acknowledging his impropriety. But he answered anyway. "Queen's orders."

Hans looked down and fought to avoid gritting his teeth. _Really?_ He thought. _As if imprisonment, guard training and a beating wasn't enough?_

He somehow retained his composure. Looking up, he spoke. "I will not leave without Mikkel, sir. If you move me, you must move him." He kept his face carefully blank, but his determination leaked out into his voice and made it as unyielding as stone.

The captain simply looked at him, unimpressed. Brow still arched, he said. "And just why should I do that?"

"He won't survive on his own." Hans replied. "You know this, sir."

There was a pause in the conversation, a silence to match Hans' held breath. Just as worry began to roll in his gut, the captain answered.

"Very well." He finally said, nodding. "His bunk will be moved near yours outside the castle. Now not another word, trainee. Dismissed."

Hans nodded, lips straining to hold the smile that threatened to split his face in half. He turned and walked away, eager to see the relief in Mikkel's eyes when he told him the news.

He supposed it was ironic that more than anything, he felt free.


	10. Chapter 10

Elsa didn't know what her sister had planned for tonight, but somehow she knew that they would both regret it.

Understandably, Anna had been insisting that they both spend more time together ever since Elsa had learned to truly control her powers. Elsa's duties often had other plans.

Admittedly, she was looking forward to whatever Anna had planned, perhaps even more than Anna herself. Years of isolation can wear out even the most introspected young lady.

"It'll be fun, Elsa!" Anna had said to her over lunch, her blue eyes shining with merriment.

The sun eventually dipped beneath the horizon, and as the day grew darker Elsa was left sitting in her study, wondering if Anna had forgotten.

She needn't worry, however, as Anna redundantly knocked on the open door before rushing in. "Come on, Elsa!" She said enthusiastically. "Get ready, I'm taking you out." Then she was left as quickly as she came.

As Elsa stared at her sister's quickly receding back, she was left wondering yet again if she would come to regret this.

* * *

"I'm going to regret this." Elsa said into the mug, staring at her reflection in the thick dark liquid.

"C'mon, Elsa! You need to stop worrying, take it easy for once. Y'know, let it go!" Anna grinned at her sister, purposely using Elsa's own phrase against her.

She turned to her still grinning sister. "Anna," She said. "How do you even know about this place? We've never been to a tavern before."

Anna rolled her eyes and took another gulp out of her mug. _How does she do that? _

"Oh, y'know, Kristoff-"

"Kristoff took you here?!" Elsa cut in, somewhat outraged. "Why that little-"

"Elsa, it's okay! I asked him to, like, 100 times."

"Oh." She replied, sitting back a little. _Well, I know how that feels._

After some time (and some coaxing from Anna) she tried to relax, to really sit back, enjoy the drink and her sister's company. To her complete surprise, it worked.

She could feel a warm, fuzziness engulf her as she contributed her own laughter to the swirling mix of gruff tones and snorting laughs from the bar. After a while, though, the lights seemed a little too bright, the sounds too loud.

"I think I'm going to take a walk outside." She finally said, finally managing a word in the raging storm of her sister's talking.

"Why, are you okay?" There was no hint of laughter on her face now, only concern.

"I'm fine, Anna," She said smiling and somewhat bemused. _How does she change moods so fast? _ "No need to worry, I just need some fresh air."

"Oh, okay." She said, the worry in her expression gone like the wind. "Don't get lost!" She called once Elsa had reached the entrance, the laughter back in her eyes.

Elsa breathed in the cool night air, enjoying the way the moon light played on the cool stone of the city. Her modest shoes made an echoing tap as she walked across the streets, seemingly alone.

"What's this, now?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked to the source, and found only a dark ally. Looking back, she found she had Walked further from the tavern than she thought.

"Hello?" She called, growing worried and anxious.

"Hello." Another voice replied. Two forms solidified from the shadows of the alley. They were roughly dressed, with scruffy beards and the gait of those who are drunk and neither care nor are fully aware of it.

"What's a pretty young girl like you doing all alone at this time at night?" The first voice said as both forms approached. His teeth gleamed in the darkness.

"S-stay back, please." She held out her hands, frost appearing at her fingertips. The two men didn't seem to notice.

"Don't worry girl, we'll keep you safe." The other voice said. The first seemed to find this outrageously funny, and his snorting laughter didn't get in the way of his stride.

She was backing away now, her heart beating into her ears. And before she knew it, she was senselessly looking up into a dark, starlit sky.

_How beautiful._ She thought, dazed and wondrous. She glanced around confusedly, wondering why she was on the ground. _I must have fallen…_

Her gaze eventually fell onto the figure now directly in front of her, and finally she remembered her fear as the figure knelt and slowly rested his dark fingers around her throat.

"Well, now…" He didn't finish.

_Thump._ The sound of something falling. The figure looked up, eyes wide.

Something long and narrow knocked him back off her laying form. He scrambled up, reaching for a cudgel at his side. "Back off, or I'll-"

He was interrupted by something bright and flashing, a sword. It slashed down at his head, and he was forced to clumsily block with his cudgel.

Elsa could finally make out another form, back towards her. She tried to make it out, because something in the way it stood seemed so familiar, but everything seemed to be growing darker. She absently touched a hand to an aching spot at the back of her head.

The form finally managed to strike the cudgel out of the man's hands. He quickly stepped in and executed a sharp blow to the man's head with the blunt end of his sword. The man sunk like a stone.

Elsa's vision was growing darker, and she could only faintly hear words spoken in what seemed like concern. The figure rushed to her, knelt by her. She felt the faint feathery touches of his fingers on her face, tipping them up so that her eyes met his. They widened, and they seemed oddly familiar, but as her sight was finally fading to black all Elsa could think was: _what nice green eyes…._


End file.
